PM VOW OVER ARMS EMBARGO BREACHES

David Cameron said he would act "very swiftly" if British arms exports to Russia were being deployed against Ukraine but insisted he did not believe an embargo had been breached.

The Government declared in March that it had banned the sale of "military and dual-use items destined for units of the Russian armed forces or other state agencies which could be or are being deployed against Ukraine".

MPs raised concerns about the strength of the policy after finding that 251 export licences for the sale to Russia of controlled goods worth at least £132 million remained in force.

The Commons Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) said that just 31 licences had been revoked or suspended while Russia had been removed as a permitted destination on three others since the embargo was announced.

The Government insisted it had not watered down the ban and insisted there was "no credible risk" that hunting and sporting rifles supplied to private individuals and authorised dealers would be diverted to the military.

But the committee's concerns sparked French accusations of hypocrisy against Mr Cameron after he pointedly suggested Paris should not be going ahead with a contract to supply Russia with helicopter carriers.

Asked about the report, Mr Cameron said: "I believe that we have been consistent with the terms of the arms embargo that we set out, which was principally aimed at Russian armed forces and the use of goods and involvement in Ukraine.

"But we'll look very carefully at all outstanding licences to make sure that's the case and of course if it is not the case then we will want to act very, very swiftly."

CAEC chairman Sir John Stanley said that the relatively small number of licences which had been withdrawn reflected the "circumscribed" nature of the original statement which referred only to equipment which could be deployed against Ukraine and did not cover Russia's wider defence requirements.

"Russia is an authoritarian regime. We should have been applying a more cautious approach for some time in regard to Russia," he said.

Sir John has written to new Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond asking if he will be suspending or revoking the remaining licences.